Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 292

Returning to the hotel room, I opened up to everyone about what I had just felt.

The emotions I experienced in that brief moment and the thoughts I currently held.

“So, what does Hayun want?”

I…

I couldn’t respond to Sohee’s words.

I was worried that my actions might be robbing others of their opportunities, which left me feeling uneasy.

Honestly, I was in the mood to forfeit the match right then and there.

But I couldn’t voice that.

“Do you want to forfeit the next match?”

Such a piercing question.

I avoided Sohee’s gaze.

“Well, I thought getting to the round of 16 was a decent result…”

A heavy silence fell after my hesitating words.

Ellie, who had been munching on snacks while dozing off, Seongsin, who was perched on the bed with her phone, and Sohee, sitting in front of me, all fell silent.

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

I wondered if I had made a misstep and glanced carefully toward Sohee for a long while until she finally spoke.

“Sigh…”

A low sigh escaped her lips.

Then she smiled faintly and said, “If Hayun wants to, then go for it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I have no complaints.”

Sohee gave her consent. I threw a glance at the others, asking silently for their agreement.

Seongsin, who had been staring blankly at me, nodded.

Now only one person remained.

Ellie.

I looked at her.

“Hayun, are you serious?”

“Um… I just feel bad… Everyone worked hard for this tournament.”

The moment those words were out, Ellie’s expression crumpled.

“Hayun, do you respect every player in this tournament?”

“Uh, well… I generally respect all gamers.”

“In that case!”

Wham!

As soon as I finished my answer, Ellie shot up from her seat.

She slammed the snack bag she was holding down on the table.

Thanks to that, the contents of the bag spilled everywhere.

“Gah…”

Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise at her own actions.

She immediately reached out with both hands to pick up the scattered snacks.

Once she cleaned up the mess on the table, Ellie took a breath and continued.

“Then I hope you won’t even mention forfeiting.”

“Why’s that?”

“If we forfeit now, have you thought about how the teams that lost to us might feel?”

“Well…”

“Every team except ours has put in significant effort to participate in this tournament. We are the ones who trampled on that effort. Are we really going to forfeit all of a sudden?”

Bouncing up, Ellie approached me from her chair.

Her unwavering gaze brought to mind the ghostly shape of a knight behind her.

“Didn’t you say you respect them?”

“So…”

“Don’t deceive me, Blood Demon King. Act like yourself. Step on everything with confidence and arrogance. Make everyone accept your presence.”

With that, Ellie crawled back onto the bed.

I watched, mesmerized, as she moved, then I heard her faint voice.

“Mind if I borrow the bed…?”

I tightened my lips at Ellie’s words. She was right. I had brought up forfeiting just to make myself feel better.

I hadn’t considered how the other teams who had lost to us might feel.

Was it because I hadn’t slept? A late-night emotional surge hit me.

I awkwardly smiled and looked up at Sohee.

As always, she was giving me a faint smile.

No matter what I said, she would nod and follow along.

“What do you want to do?”

Even after hearing Ellie’s words, asking such a question…

I chuckled softly and shook my head.

“I’m good.”

“You aren’t going to forfeit?”

“Yeah, no. I’m going to win.”

“Good thinking.”

Was my answer satisfactory to her?

Sohee beamed even brighter and ruffled my hair.

That natural touch made me want to lower my gaze.

“Senpai.”

“Ah, yeah?”

“I’m sorry. You worked hard in practice for this tournament too…”

“Oh, no… It’s because I can’t play VRS that I didn’t want to be a nuisance…”

But it’s still a fact that she put in the effort.

I bowed my head toward Seongsin.

She looked flustered, and to ease my discomfort, she cleared her throat and averted her gaze.

My troubled and convoluted mind felt clear.

Of course, that didn’t mean my discomfort had vanished.

A small annoyance hung in the air, like a thorn caught somewhere in my throat with every breath.

“Um…”

Anyway, no more forfeiting.

As Ellie said, I plan to give my all in this tournament.

I’ll demonstrate enough skill to convince everyone.

To do that, I need to recover my condition.

I rubbed my eyes and climbed onto the bed where Ellie was lying.

This room belonged to me and Sohee.

That means Sohee and I were the rightful owners of the bed.

But taking up the middle of the bed was Ellie, sprawled out with her long white hair.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Sohee’s question and laid down next to Ellie.

Ellie’s breathing was quiet and steady, meaning she had already fallen asleep.

Since I shared a bed with Sohee, I was used to the sound of breathing next to me.

*

Warmth and a soft sensation.

And a scent that felt both familiar yet strange.

Waking up, I looked around with bleary eyes.

The room was dark, as if the lights were off.

Thanks to the moonlight and neon signs filtering in through the window, I could only vaguely discern the shape of the room.

Soft—

The sensation I caught with my fingertips was soft.

I tilted my head and continued moving my hand.

Warm and soft to the touch.

Sohee? No, Sohee’s skin didn’t feel like this.

Sitting on the bed, I lowered my gaze to confirm what I was touching.

A wide expanse of white hair.

A cute open mouth that was wide open and drool streaming down beside it.

The short-sleeved shirt she wore had hiked up partially, revealing her white belly.

It was Ellie.

Next to me was Ellie, and what I was touching was her belly.

“Oh…”

I never knew Ellie’s belly was this soft.

I couldn’t feel a hint of muscle at all.

It felt completely different from Sohee’s, which was quite fascinating.

As if entranced, I kept poking at Ellie’s belly.

Soft and fluffy—

Where did Sohee and Seongsin go?

I kept fiddling with Ellie’s belly while scanning the area.

“Sohee? Seongsin?”

They were all in this room before I fell asleep, so what happened?

I halted my belly poking and pulled out my phone from my pocket.

The time displayed was 10:50 PM.

There were no messages or notifications from Sohee.

“Um…”

Just then, Ellie, who had been lying next to me, seemed to wake up, her expression dazed as she sat up.

Naturally, she looked around curiously.

As she sat up, her shirt slid down, covering her white belly again.

I couldn’t help but lick my lips at the sight.

“Hayun…”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t see Sohee or Seongsin.”

“They were gone when I woke up.”

“Weren’t there texts or anything?”

“None…”

“Hmm…”

Ellie nodded at my words and then jumped down from the bed.

I followed her off the bed.

“Should we try calling them?”

“Good idea.”

Without hesitation, both of us took out our phones and began to dial.

I, of course, called Sohee, while Ellie called Seongsin.

As about 30 seconds passed, my phone finally connected.

“Sohee?”

[Oh, you’re up?]

“Where are you? The room’s lights are off.”

[I stepped out with Seongsin for a bit.]

“You’re coming back soon, right?”

[Yeah, I’ll be back in a bit.]

“Did you buy snacks?”

[… Do you want snacks?]

“I want potato chips. We’ve eaten all the ones we bought yesterday.”

[Got it…]

And that was the end of our call.

I nodded and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Seongsin and Sohee are on their way back.”

“Gotcha…”

Ellie nodded at my words, putting her phone away as she sat next to me.

With both of us sitting on the bed, our legs didn’t reach the floor.

I placed my leg next to Ellie’s to compare lengths.

Mine turned out slightly longer.

A subtle feeling of victory washed over me.

It felt good.

Ellie and I sat there without doing much until Seongsin and Sohee returned.

Since there wasn’t anything special to do.

Unable to withstand the boredom, Ellie pulled out her phone to start playing Deron, but I found myself drawn to something else.

That was Ellie’s belly.

Earlier, I hadn’t been able to fully enjoy the plush feel when I touched it in my sleepy state.

But right now, with all my senses sharp, it felt like a good time to really savor that soft sensation.

I quietly moved behind Ellie and started to position myself.

Over her shoulder, I caught a glimpse of her phone screen.

She was in a heated argument in Deron’s gallery.

It seemed she had gotten into a spat in this brief time.

Now that Ellie was deeply focused on something, it was my chance.

I reached out and hugged Ellie from behind.

“Hayun…?”

“Just hang tight for a sec.”

“This, this is…!”

I didn’t have any particular intentions.

I just wanted to give her belly a nice squeeze.

I slipped my hands under Ellie’s shirt and grabbed her soft belly.

“Hyek!”

As I squeezed it, Ellie twisted away.

A high-pitched scream burst from her lips.

“Stay still…!”

“Th-that’s too much!”

Soft and fluffy—

The feeling drew me in more and more.

Not just her belly, but her sides felt just as soft.

“Hyek! Hyek! Huheh!”

“Oh…”

“Hyek!”

Soft and fluffy—

No matter how much Ellie struggled, there was no way she could escape from my grip behind her.

I tightened my hold and wrapped my legs around her waist.

“Stay still! I’m not hurting you!”

“Hyek!!!”

Is Ellie even human?

Could she possibly be an alien from a soft planet?

This sensation was completely different from Sohee’s belly, which I had touched before.

Soft and fluffy—

“Hyek!”

I didn’t let go of Ellie until Seongsin and Sohee arrived.

Ellie was a total mess.

Like a melted rice cake.